


piqued interest

by pasupare



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Character Study, Follows Canon, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-02 14:19:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17265722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pasupare/pseuds/pasupare
Summary: Now that Ed and Ling were trapped in the belly of a homunculus together for hours on end, there was not much else to think about other than each other.Short fic I wanted to write to establish how I consider Ed and Ling's feelings for each other developed.





	1. edward

To say that Edward Elric was in love with Ling Yao would be an overstatement. Love is a tricky word with complex meanings; meanings that Ed has never had the experience of delving in past familial love. Love is a word Ed saved for people like Al or Granny or Winry--not for some Xingese prince he barely knew. So--no--Edward was not in love with Ling, but he sure as hell was interested. Interested in how quickly Ling sobered up as their situation turned more grave, interested in the way Ling was willing to risk his royal life for his retainer, and interested in the fact that Ed apparently didn’t understand the prince as well as he thought he did.

Edward is a scientist--an alchemist--and as such, he enjoys puzzles the more difficult they are. Ling Yao was definitely a difficult puzzle. After meeting him in Rush Valley, Ed had thought he had Ling’s nature and ideals pinned down. He was a greedy prince whose only goal was to find a Philosopher’s stone in order to become emperor. And who also had an annoyingly, insatiable appetite. The Ling from then was of no interest to Edward. Somebody so one-dimensional wasn’t worth his curiosity. It wasn’t until Ed saw how desperate Ling became to save Lan Fan that he started to have second guesses about the Xingese prince.

From that point forward, Ling’s demeanor only further intrigued Ed. The happy-go-lucky prince present only days earlier was suddenly nowhere to be seen--replaced by this stern, impatient man. It was times like these that Ed genuinely had trouble wrapping his brain around the fact that he was actually a few months older than Ling. Aged past his years, and almost a foot taller to boot, Ling certainly did not look like the 15-going-on-16 years old boy he was. And now that Ed and Ling were trapped in the belly of a homunculus together for hours on end, there was not much else to think about other than either their impending doom, or each other.

Maybe this was his delirium talking, or maybe this was just a result of his instincts idealizing the one person he very well may die in this Hell-hole with. Even so, Edward couldn’t help but admire how attractive the prince was without that forced smile on his face. Despite being drenched in the blood of the damned, the light from the flames Ling was carrying helped define his relentless look of determination. Ed considered how much more fitting that determination looked on Ling’s long face, and how much more attractive it made him seem. Edward would later blame these thoughts on those pesky teenage hormones.

“Edward?” Ling posed, snapping Ed out of his uninvited thoughts.

“Yeah?” Ed looked up at Ling, whose eyes were fixed forward at the great expanse before them.

Ling paused, before quietly inquiring, “We’ll get out of here, won’t we?”

The uneasiness and doubt in Ling’s voice made Ed want to stop in his tracks. Stop, and hold onto Ling who he knew was more worried about his injured friend than anything else. In that moment, all Ed wanted to do more than just hug Ling was punch Gluttony in his stupid face for making somebody so ambitious and vibrant and fiery have such a defeated look on his face. But Edward settled with clenching his fists and putting all the confidence he could muster in his voice to declare, “Yeah. We’ll definitely get out of here Ling.”

Ling’s features softened into a faint smile. He didn’t say anything else, or look back at the other boy beside him, but Edward knew that was all Ling wanted to hear. Ed followed Ling’s gaze forward on their long trek in the dark reaches of Gluttony’s stomach, all the while reflecting on how beautiful Ling looked when Ed made him smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kicked off 2019 finishing my rewatch of FMAB and I'm realizing how much I love edling again lol... I've been in a writing mood for FMA in general lately, but there's so much I want to hold off on until I finally read the manga, so here's this little thing for now


	2. ling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If it had been anybody else whose bright, golden eyes shone in the darkness like Ling’s lifeline to say “It’ll all be okay,” he would have lost hope hours ago.
> 
> Part two from Ling's perspective

Ling hadn’t known Ed for long. Their time spent together had been short, and under unfortunate circumstances. Yet, Ling couldn’t help his bubbling feelings of admiration for the young alchemist. Ling had begun to view Edward Elric as the one source of light in this dark, twisted country called Amestris. It hadn’t taken long for Ling to realize his feelings for the boy were a little more than just platonic.

If it had been anybody else who had saved Ling from the brink of starvation, Ling wouldn’t have the leads he did now on obtaining immortality. If it had been anybody else who asked Ling to help them capture a homunculus, Ling would have likely withheld his trust. If it had been anybody else whose bright, golden eyes shone in the darkness like Ling’s lifeline to say “It’ll all be okay,” he would have lost hope hours ago. But it wasn’t anybody else. It was Edward Elric who he was stuck in this disgusting, putrid nightmare with, and Ling had to say he didn’t mind that part too much.

What Ling did mind, though, was the idea of Lan Fan being handled by some Amestrians he barely knew while he was stuck in this predicament. If it weren’t for the anxiety crawling up his spine at the thought of Lan Fan coming to consciousness, alone, in some stranger’s house, worrying herself about Ling’s safety, Ling would have a much easier time appreciating how brilliant Ed looked in firelight. Not the most romantic of situations--Ling will admit--but their rancid surroundings deep in the bowels of Gluttony’s stomach were no match to the allure of how soft Ed’s features appeared when highlighted by the flames Ling carried. Ling thought that, if they were in any other situation right now, Ling would definitely be flirting with Ed--his list of compliments only increasing with each passing minute.

But they weren’t in any other situation, and Ling and Ed were well past that point by now. Where Ling would have usually kept up his confident, upbeat persona for those he didn’t know, Ling had been forced to show Edward his true colors after the fight with Wrath. There’s a reason Ling keeps that smile plastered on his face 24/7, and it’s because he knows how off-putting his face seems without it. Especially in Amestris, where everybody’s eyes are so big and expressive, Ling has trouble coming off as anything but intimidating with his sharp, stern eyes. Even in Xing, Ling was always conscious of how harsh he appeared to others, which is why he adopted his cheery persona. But after all that happened with Wrath, and now these other homunculi, Ling had more than let his mask fall around the Elric brothers.

Fortunately, though, Edward didn’t seem to mind. If anything, his conversations with the alchemist now were a lot more… Honest? Or maybe authentic? Ed seemed much more receptive and patient with Ling now that he had dropped the facade, and that certainly did not alleviate Ling’s dilemma concerning the Elric boy. Not only was Edward one of the few people he could just be himself around, but Edward also seemed to prefer that side of Ling. Not to mention Ling barely even knew the guy. Ling couldn’t help but think to himself that he wished he had met Edward Elric a long time ago.

“Hey I-” Edward’s automail hand scratched the back of his head while he tried to search for the right words to say, avoiding Ling’s eyes, “I know you’re worried about Lan Fan and all--and I get it! Totally. But, even though he’s a pain in the ass, Mustang is a really good guy. He won’t let anything happen to her.”

Ling simply blinked, surprised at the sudden mention of his friend, and Ed’s apparent concern for his uneasiness.

“And Hawkeye, too! She’s really protective and can take out anybody in her way,” Ed’s eyes shone with passion as he held his fists up in admiration, “They’ll definitely keep Lan Fan safe until we can get you out of here to see her again.” At those last words Ed had turned his head to flash a toothy grin at the boy next to him, and Ling could feel a wave of relief wash over him. It seems silly to take such comfort in the words of some 16 year old boy who had as little leads on getting out of this abyss as Ling did, but it helped, all the same.

“Thanks, Ed,” Ling smiled back, soft, but genuine, “let’s get the hell outta here then.”

“Alright!” Ed pumped his fist with his newfound enthusiasm, and held his head high as he gazed back upon the dark void before them.

Ling let out a faint noise of amusement, not at Edward’s sudden outburst of energy, but at how quickly the boy was able to inspire faith and confidence in Ling’s otherwise hopeless mindset. Although Ling was supposed to be the future leader of Xing, he couldn’t help thinking that he wouldn’t mind following Edward anywhere he asked him to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I definitely did not intend to even write Ling's POV, but here we are. I actually, in general, just have a lot of pent up feelings about Ling Yao that I've been needing to get out for like 8 years now. He was always my FMA fav when I was little, and I thought I could write my appreciation for him just through Ed's POV but I guess I was wrong lmao. Anyway, the fact that Ling is canonly self-conscious about his eyes and that he smiles all the time to seem more approachable just breaks my heart I have so much love for him... Regardless though, I'm glad I feel like I was able to illustrate what Ed and Ling both find most attractive about the other in terms of personalities (though physically too), because that's always been the most charming thing about both of them to me.


End file.
